Over 100 years, RSS resisted greed, focused on character building: Bhagwat

Nagpur, Oct 2 (PTI) RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday said the Sangh, despite being lured by greed and invited to join politics, has stuck to its core mission of 'vyakti nirman' (character building) for the past 100 years.

Addressing swayamsevaks at the annual Vijayadashmi event in Nagpur, which also marked the centenary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bhagwat said his speech aimed to share conclusions drawn from the organisation’s century-long experience.

He stressed the need for gradual, step-by-step reforms in the global system to avoid destruction. India must present a development model based on a “holistic and integrated outlook” and present it to the world, he said.

The world needs to be shown the path of ‘dharma’, the RSS chief said, adding that dharma is beyond worship, customs or traditions, and it connects all.

Social change can be effected through living examples of integrity, selflessness and social leadership, said the RSS chief. This is why RSS was founded and why its 'shakhas' (branches) continue to nurture character and unity despite all odds, he said.

Over the past 100 years, the RSS was offered allurements and was even invited to join politics, but it continued doing only one work, which is running ‘shakhas’, he said.

Social transformation through vyakti nirman is the correct path for bringing about change in the world, and this has been the collective experience of swayamsevaks, he said.

India’s diversity of languages, faiths, lifestyles and traditions must be seen as a strength. All communities, including those who adopted foreign religions, are part of the larger Indian identity, Bhagwat said, urging harmony, mutual respect and rejection of violence.

Deriding hooliganism and attempts to create communal rifts, Bhagwat said law enforcement must act without bias. “However, the good people of society and the younger generation also need to be vigilant and organised, and they will also have to intervene if necessary,” he added. PTI CLS NR